World War Live Fighting Strategy Guide
Fighting OverviewThe availability of Defense Buildings and, to a lesser extent, casualties adds an extra layer of strategy to fighting in World War. The typical Storm 8 two minute Ammo timer also exists in World War, making fighting the most effective way to gain experience in the game.
There are several factors taken into account in a fight:
- Alliance Size: Number of alliance members brought into the fight by each player.
- Units: The attack or defense point value of the units used by each player in the fight.
- Defense Buildings: The total defense point value of the defense buildings used by the defender in the fight.
- Skills: The attack or defense skill points of the respective players.
- Luck: A random chance factor just to keep things interesting.
Attacking
In order to initiate an attack against another player, you must have at least 1 Ammo Point and a minimum of 27 Health.
A successful attack generally earns you anywhere from 2 to 5 experience points. Additionally, if your opponent has any money that is not in the vault, you can earn up to ~1950 * their current character level. A failed attack results in 0 experience but you do not lose any money. Keep in mind that every attack has the possibility of casualties for your attacking units.
Defending
As long as you have 27 health or higher, you can be attacked by another player.
A successful defense generally earns you 1 to 2 experience points. You can not earn money by defending and, if you lose against an attacker, you can lose up to ~1950 * your current character level in money that is not in the vault. Every time you defend against an attack, there is the possibility of casualties for your defending units.
Calculating Fight Results
Although the exact fight formula is unknown, it can be approximated by understanding each of the factors involved in a fight.
Definitions:
- Attack/Defense Points: The total attack/defense point value of the units that you use into a fight.
- Defense Buildings: The total defense point value of the buildings used by defender to defend their base.
- Skill Points: Each player's current attack or defense skill points.
- Total Attack/Defense Score: The calculated total point value based upon your attack/defense points and skill points.
Total Defense Score = (Unit Defense Points + Building Defense Points) * (a % of your Defense Skill Points)
Alliance Size
It is important to remember that you can only bring up to 5x your current level in alliance members into any fight. This restriction is enforced both when you are attacking and defending regardless of the level or alliance size of your opponent.
Example: A Level 14 player with 400 alliance members will only use 70 members in a fight.
Unit Attack/Defense Points
The number of units that you can utilize in a fight is directly tied to the number of alliance members that you can bring into the fight. In World War, each alliance member can use up to 6 units. It does not matter what category the unit belongs to.
Each of these units has an attack and defense point value that is used to calculate your total attack or defense points in a fight.
- Attack: Used to calculate your Attack points when Attacking
- Defense: Used to calculate your Defense points when Defending
Example: I am level 25 and have 400 alliance members. I own 1000 Snipers (Atk 3, Def 5) and 1000 Navy Seals (Atk 5, Def 4). When attacking another player, I will use 125 alliance members (5*25) and 750 Navy Seals (6*125) for a total of 3750 attack points (750*5). When defending against another player, I will use 125 alliance members and 750 Snipers for a total of 3750 defense points (750*5).
This calculated attack or defense point value largely determines the outcome of a fight. The player with the higher value will usually win.
Defense Buildings
Although this basic fight formula still applies, the availability of Defense Buildings in World War adds additional defense points for the defender that must be taken into account. The total defense points of a defender's buildings needs to be added to their total in order to get an accurate gauge of their defensive strength.
Example: If I own 10 Bunkers (+3 Def) and 5 Guard Tower (+10 Def), when I am attacked my base will provide an additional 80 Defense Points.
Tip: If you can afford them, purchase as many defense buildings as possible. There is no limit and they have no upkeep costs.
Skills
Your character's current attack and defense skill points also play a role in fights. Similar to units, only your attack skill is used when attacking and only your defense skill is used when defending. Keep in mind that the skills of your alliance members do not matter.
While the exact formula is unknown, my testing has shown that your skill points serve as a multiplier to your total attack or defense points in a fight.
Luck
While the results of most fights are fairly predictable once you understand how attack points and skills are calculated, there is still some randomness involved. It is not uncommon to win 3 fights in a row against an opponent and then lose the next one (all other factors unchanged). This "luck" tends to play a greater role when the two players are closely matched in terms of points.
Casualties
Whenever a fight takes place, the units used by both players can become casualties and permanently lost. This occurs randomly with the higher priced units having a lower casualty rate than the lower priced units. Because of this, it makes sense to purchase extra units just in case you are unable to actively replace lost units.
Opponent Selection
In World War, you CANNOT attack players from the same country as yourself. Against other countries, you can generally only fight against players that are similar to you in level and alliance size. This restriction does not apply to units and skill points. Also, both players must have a minimum of 27 health in order for a fight to take place.
Attacking
When attacking, you have a significant advantage because you can choose your opponent. By looking at their alliance size, units and defense buildings, you can predetermine the outcome of most fights.
Generally, the attack process begins through the Battle button on the home screen. Pressing this brings up a list of randomly selected opponents that are similar to you in level and alliance size (for exceptions, see Open Season). Each of the opponents has their alliance size listed and their name can be clicked on to view their profile. This profile screen contains a list of all their units and buildings.
By analyzing this information and comparing it to your own, you should already have a good idea if you can defeat them in a fight.
Defending
When defending, you can only rely upon having a high total defensive score. The availability of Defense Buildings makes it much easier to increase your defensive capabilities without increasing your upkeep costs and it is recommended that you invest in as many as possible.
If you find that you are losing a high percentage of fights, it may make sense to vault your money so it can not be lost. Also, keeping your health under 27 prevents you from being attacked.
Open Season
At the higher levels, you may suddenly see your fight list populated with players that fall out of the normal restricted range. This occurs because there are fewer players at the higher levels and the game automatically extends the range of available opponents in order to populate the list. While this may seem unfair, it is a part of the game and occurs because you have leveled faster than the majority of other players.
When this occurs, it is recommended that you maximize your alliance size and, depending upon your income stream, buy more powerful units and/or additional defense buildings. This will increase your chances against higher level opponents.
Strategy Tips
These are some general tips based upon my own experiences:
Alliance Size
There is no advantage at the earlier levels to having a large alliance. The game automatically restricts players with large alliances from attacking players with smaller alliances. Keeping your alliance smaller has the added benefit of limiting your upkeep costs and allowing for a larger income stream.
Experience and money earned from fights remains the same so, as long as your fight list contains players with similar alliance sizes, it is not necessary to increase your alliance size. However, once you hit the higher levels, the game automatically increases the range of opponents that can attack you. When this occurs, you should increase or max out the number of members in your alliance.
I personally like to start with 9 alliance members and only increase the number if absolutely necessary.
Defense Buildings
Defense buildings are an ideal purchase because they have no upkeep costs and are added to your defense score whenever you are attacked. I recommend purchasing as many as you can afford as it will allow you to allocate more of your money toward attack units without having to worry about their defense points.
Skill Points
In World War, defense buildings makes some opponents extremely difficult to successfully attack. Although it is still recommended to allocate points to defense, I recommend putting as many points as possible toward Attack. You can compensate for lower defense skill points with defense buildings.
Units (also see the World War Units Strategy Guide)
Remember that each alliance member (up to 5 per level) can use 6 units each (regardless of unit category). Make sure that every alliance member has at least 6 units that they can use in a fight.
World War Building Calculator
The World War Calcuator contains detailed information on units and defense buildings. It also calculates your attack and defense scores and is a useful tool for optimizing your playing strategy.
